Mini Landfills Grade Level: 4 Background Materials:  4 glass jars with lids
 Trash objects (ex. Water bottle, plastic bag, packing peanuts, used greeting card, etc.)
 Brown paper bag
 Soil
 Onion peel
 Newspaper
 Tin can
 Styrofoam
 Spoon (or other digging utensil)
● Mini Landfill It is important to recognize that when trash is thrown away it is not always completely gone. Waste items from our garbage cans go into municipal landfills where they can biodegrade at different rates depending on the material composition of the item. Many waste items are still present in a landfill long after they are deposited there. Biodegradable materials decompose at a relatively quick rate. They are broken down by microorganisms into harmless compounds, naturally recycled back into the environment for other living things to use. Objectives Students will:  Examine the properties of different waste items including whether they are compostable, recyclable, or landfill waste and whether they are made from renewable or non‐renewable resources.
 Create mini landfills in jars to demonstrate the biodegradable properties of waste items.
 Analyze the extent to which certain waste items are biodegradable in a landfill‐like environment.
 Discuss the impact that landfill waste has on the environment. Introduction  Read poems, ask students to identify which kind of waste disposal the riddle is referring to.  Review the terms recycle, compost, landfill waste, biodegradable. Analysis worksheet Lesson continued on page 2….. Curriculum Alignment Elementary Science, Topic A, 4‐5 Specific Learner Expectations: Students will: 1. Identify plant and animal wastes, and describe how they are recycled in nature.
4. Distinguish between wastes that are readily biodegradable and those that are not. Cross‐
Curricular Connections Information and Communication Technology Social Studies Art Page 2 Mini Landfills Introduction continued…. I’m a drop in the bucket but I’m not wet Turn bags and bottles into rugs or a fine jacket I make old things into new You should see all the things that I can do! A: Recycling! Making me is sometimes messy Kitchen scraps are like a blessing I can make your garden grow Once you needed me for something I’m rich with browns and greens, you know. Then tossed me out and very bluntly A: Compost! Put me in a smelly place Where I can lay and take up space A: Garbage!  Review the terms recycle, compost, landfill waste, biodegradable Activity #1  Brainstorm examples of renewable vs. non‐renewable resources.
 Renewable – trees, oxygen, water, fruit, vegetable, and grain crops.
 Non‐renewable – minerals (ex. copper, gold), fossil fuels (ex. coal, oil, and gas)
 Have students come up with 5 common products that are made from renewable resources and 5 products that are made from non‐renewable resources.
 Ask students: What do we do with these products when we are done with them? (Recycle, compost or put in the garbage)
 Students will play a game of twenty questions. Without letting the class see what you are doing, put one trash object in a brown paper bag. Show the contents to one student then set the bag aside. The class will then begin asking questions to that student to determine what is in the bag.
 Some suggested questions are: Do I come from the earth? Am I made from a renewable resource? A nonrenewable resource? Am I made by a person? Am I biodegradable? Am I packaging? Am I a container? Do I contain food? Am I recyclable? Am I compostable?  Separate, prepare and label different types of recyclable trash.
Lesson continued on page 3…... Activity #2  Explain to students that they will see with their own eyes what happens to different types of materials in a landfill in order to determine the best way to dispose of them.
 Label 4 jars as “Compostable”, “Renewable Resource/ Recyclable”, “Non‐Renewable Resource/ Recyclable”, “Non‐Renewable Resource/ Hard to Recycle”
Lesson continued on page 3….. Page 3 Mini Landfills Activity #2 continued…  Fill 2/3 jars with soil
 Place waste items in the jars and bury in soil as follows:
 Compostable – onion peel
 Renewable Resource/ Recyclable – newspaper
 Non‐Renewable Resource/ Recyclable ‐ tin can
 Non‐Renewable Resource/ Hard to Recycle – Styrofoam
Leave items in soil for 2 – 3 weeks. Keep mini landfill moist and out of direct sun. Activity #3  Uncover items previously buried in the soil
 Fill out table in worksheet, Mini Landfill Analysis (Appendix )
 Discuss results with class as each item is uncovered
 Have students answer the questions in worksheet, Mini Landfill Analysis (Appendix )
Ask students to share what the results mean to them. What does that tell us about the items we put in the Lethbridge landfill? (Many of them do not just go away!)
Conclusion  Discuss some of the estimations that have been  Aluminum Can: 200‐400 Years
made about the life expectancy of items in a landfill (Information collected from the Bureau of Land Man‐  Plastic 6‐pack Holder: 450 Years agement www.blm.gov) :
 Glass Bottles: Lots and Lots of Years. Forever?  Paper: 2‐4 Weeks
 Styrofoam: approx. 2000 years  Banana Peel: 3‐5 Weeks
 Wool Cap: 1 Year
 Cigarette Butt: 2‐5 Years
 Disposable Diaper: 10‐20 Years
 Hard Plastic Container: 20‐30 Years
 Rubber Boot Sole: 50‐80 Years
 Tin Can: 80‐100 Years
Lesson continued on page 4… Page 4 Mini Landfills Extension Activities  Borrow the EnviroScape Landfill and Recycling model from the City of Lethbridge. Demonstrate how a typical landfill is constructed.
 Research the lives of Aboriginal people or the early settlers in Southern Alberta to find out what kind of waste they generated. Compare what their waste stream was likely made of to what ours is composed of today. Local Field Trips/ In‐Class Presentations  Lethbridge Municipal Landfill ‐ Mary Hughes # 403‐315‐1497  BFI Recycling Depot ‐ Colin Harms # 403‐328‐6355
 Ability Resource Centre ‐ Jane VanLent # 403‐329‐3937
 City of Lethbridge: Composting presentation ‐ Andrea Vaxvick # 403‐320‐4996  City of Lethbridge: EnviroScape Landfill and Recycling model presentation ‐ Andrea Vaxvick # 403‐320‐
4996 Additional Resources  Find out what materials are recyclable in Lethbridge at www.lethbridge.ca  Borrow the EnviroScape Landfill and Recycling model from the City of Lethbridge
 Click on the Waste section of the EcoKids Homework Helper page for more great information about waste and recycling http://www.ecokids.ca/pub/homework_help/index.cfm  Visit the Recycling Council of Alberta website at http://www.recycle.ab.ca/ Municipalities often have seasonal programs
throughout the year! Check out what’s
happening at the City of Lethbridge at
Helen Schuler Nature Centre
910—4th Ave. S.
Lethbridge, AB
T1J 0P6
Phone: 403-320-3064
E-mail: [email protected]
www.lethbridge.ca
Page 5 Mini Landfills Mini Landfill Analysis
Name:
Date:
Compostable Item:
Renewable Resources / Recyclable Item:
Observations:
Observations:
Non-Renewable Resources / Recyclable
Item:
Non-Renewable Resources / Hard to
Recycle Items:
Observations:
Observations: